Hershey and Worcester combined for 67 penalty minutes when the Sharks made their lone 2011-12 Giant Center visit on Feb. 11. The Sharks, averaging 22.79 penalty minutes per game to Hershey's 17.54, are again a feisty team.

“A lot of guys back from last year's team that possessed a real aggressive mentality and good team speed,” Bears head coach Mark French said.

Hershey, coming off back-to-back wins at St. John's on Tuesday and Wednesday, welcomed defensemen Patrick McNeill and Garrett Stafford back to full-participation practice on Friday. Both are coming off upper body injuries.

“It's up to the coaches,” said Stafford, who still leads Hershey defensemen in assists (13) despite being sidelined the past nine games. “I'm feeling good. I feel like I can play.

“My goal is just to add to what we've been doing. Obviously, a big part of my job is on the power play. I'm looking to come in and help that out a lot and go from there.”

A Hershey power play that had been sputtering has gone 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) in the last three games.

“I think it's just ebbs and flows of the season,” French said. “Our chances now are just going in a little bit more than when we were struggling there. I don't think our amount of chances have grown, but our amount of goals are.

“I liked it a few games before, when it wasn't converting, in terms of what we saw from a structure standpoint. The guys did a good job staying patient within that, and we started to convert.”

The practice returns of McNeill and Stafford resulted in Patrick Wellar's reassignment to Reading (ECHL). Defenseman Brett Flemming, who made his 2012-13 Hershey debut Wednesday at St. John's after getting recalled from Reading, remained with the Bears.

“Obviously, I'd like to stay here,” Flemming said. “This is where I want to be, and I'm going to do whatever I can to make that happen. Whatever happens happens for me. If I get sent back down, I'm going to work just as hard there as I am up here.”